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Dispatch from the Court
A hearty group of Constitutional Law students endured a 14 degree, 7 AM start to the day to stand in line outside the Supreme Court of the United States with the hope of getting a seat in the courtroom. We succeeded, and were there to witness the first oral argument that day. Barnes v. Felix involves the tragic death of a young man, Ashtian Barnes, at the hands of Sgt. Roberto Felix, Jr. a police officer in Harris County.
Stopped for driving a rental car with unpaid tolls, Mr. Barnes could not show his driver's license or proof of insurance, and the officer claimed to have smelled marijuana in the vehicle. The encounter took a fatal turn when Felix jumped on the vehicle as it started moving forward, and in fear of his safety, he shot Mr. Barnes, who died as a result of his injuries.
The legal question the Court was grappling with involved whether Mr. Barnes' 4th Amendment Rights were violated, specifically, whether the officer acted "unreasonably" in deciding to use deadly force. The 5th Circuit Judges concluded that the officer's actions were "reasonable" by considering the actions in light of a "moment of threat," rather than a standard other circuits have followed, called the "totality of the circumstances."
In a series of fascinating exchanges between attorneys and justices, most of the justices seemed inclined to "vacate" the previous ruling and "remand" the case back to the 5th circuit to ask them to use the "totality of the circumstances" doctrine in this case and consider whether the officer created the "moment of threat" by jumping on the vehicle.
Students found the experience illuminating. Aaron H.' 25 said, "The most interesting part of witnessing the court in action was seeing the justices live. The questions that they asked and hypotheticals they presented were largely insightful, and their mannerisms were entertaining to witness firsthand (looking at you, Justices Alito and Thomas!)." Tommy K. '25 noted, "The justices conducted themselves differently. Justices Jackson and Kavanaugh were more prosecutorial and pressed the lawyers with tough questions... (while) Justice Gorsuch was much more reserved and waited to ask questions until later in the oral arguments, which were usually very detailed."
A decision in the case is expected in late Spring.
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The legal question the Court was grappling with involved whether Mr. Barnes' 4th Amendment Rights were violated, specifically, whether the officer acted "unreasonably" in deciding to use deadly force. The 5th Circuit Judges concluded that the officer's actions were "reasonable" by considering the actions in light of a "moment of threat," rather than a standard other circuits have followed, called the "totality of the circumstances."
In a series of fascinating exchanges between attorneys and justices, most of the justices seemed inclined to "vacate" the previous ruling and "remand" the case back to the 5th circuit to ask them to use the "totality of the circumstances" doctrine in this case and consider whether the officer created the "moment of threat" by jumping on the vehicle.
Students found the experience illuminating. Aaron H.' 25 said, "The most interesting part of witnessing the court in action was seeing the justices live. The questions that they asked and hypotheticals they presented were largely insightful, and their mannerisms were entertaining to witness firsthand (looking at you, Justices Alito and Thomas!)." Tommy K. '25 noted, "The justices conducted themselves differently. Justices Jackson and Kavanaugh were more prosecutorial and pressed the lawyers with tough questions... (while) Justice Gorsuch was much more reserved and waited to ask questions until later in the oral arguments, which were usually very detailed."
A decision in the case is expected in late Spring.
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